The Frederick May and Lovice Wright Story |
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Frederick May (MAY 103) was born in Lawrence County Tennessee in 1815-1817 He was the son of Daniel May (MAY 102). Lovice Wright was the Daughter of Perrin Wright. It is believed she was born on Aug 28, 1818, in Lawrence County, TN. According to information on Family Search and Tennessee marriage records Frederick and Lovice were married on September 19, 1833. There was some controversy surrounding their marriage. Old Bible and other family records show Lovice Wright was born on Aug 28, 1818. These sources showed her first child was born before April 13, 1834. Lovice was pregnant with her first child in August 1833 making her 15 or under at this time. Below is a letter and my transcript of the letter concerning the their marriage. |
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The letter included implies that Frederick and Lovice were not legally married until after September 19, 1833. The year at the bottom of the page is hard to read. When I was given this copy I was told the year was actually 1833. It could be 1836, 38 or 39 you can see there was a change made. The letter also implies there was a problem with their wanting to get married. The bottom of the letter seems to imply that if Lovice left the county where they were married in the license would be null and void. In 2001 I saw a hand written copy of the above letter and was told it was one of two original letters. Each family was to keep one of the originals until Lovice reached the age of 21. The one I saw was very worn and also hard to read. A note with the letter state stated the year as 1933 and that Lovice was underage and pregnant. I was also told that the family of Lovice Wright attempted to change records to show her age as being born in 1813 and so she was of legal age at the time of the wedding. It was told to me that a marriage bond was required of twice the usual amount because she was "with child" to assure Frederick would not abandon them. |
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The Problem with Lovice's age. There is discrepancy between the 1850 US Census and the 1860, 1880 US Census concerning the age listed for Lovice. In the 1850 US Census her age is listed as 31 and Frederick's age as 32. This confirms the that Lovice was born ia 1818 as stated above and being younger that Frederick by at least one year. The 1860 US census shows Lovice as being 46 years old and Frederick as being 44. The 1880 US Census also shows Lovice to be at least one year older than Frederick. These two census reports show Lovice as being born in 1814 and Frederick in 1818. The 1870 US census has their ages off even more. even more. (See Census reports) An other interesting listing in the 1850 US census shows 14 year old Elizabeth A May, the daughter of Frederick and Lovice as living with Perrin and Mary Wright the parents of Lovice. In 2001 I saw a hand written copy of the above letter and was told it was one of two original letters. Each family was to keep one of the originals until Lovice reached the age of 21. |
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The Wedding That Almost Wasn't Possible May/Martin Feud?There was a scandal in the story of the marriage of Frederick May and his wife Lovice Wright. They were the parents of Elizabeth Ann May (Aug 1835 - Aug 1898) who married William Thamel Martin. An old story I heard was that "Henry" Martin, William Thanel's father, did not want him to marry Elizabeth Ann May. I heard some of the Martins speak about a Martin/May feud in the early 1800's Marvin Hardiman, son of Nancy Rose Martin, spoke of a feud between Frederick May and "Henry" Martin. Possible reasons for the feud and why Henry was against the marriage. · The story of the parents of Elizabeth Ann May was not kept secret. At that time being pregnant out of wedlock was not accepted and any girl born out of wedlock carried the reputation of her mother. The scandal of their relationship did not sit well with the Martin family and Henry did not want it to enter the family. · I was well know that the Martin and May families moonshined together for many tears even before the Civil War and there were times when problems over stills caused trouble between the families. · I was told by some older May cousins that Frederick May had a bad reputation for being involved in some questionable activities before and after the Civil war. Thee is no way of really knowing just what happened at that time. I thought these rumors might interest you.
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